Department for Transport

Railways: Rural Areas

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the evidence recently published in the Campaign to Protect Rural England report Rural Reconnections: The social benefits of rail reopening.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The Government is investing record amounts in building a world-class rail network across Great Britain, helping to create jobs, boost businesses, and secure long-term economic growth in every part of the country. We have asked the Peninsula Rail Task Force of local authorities and other key stakeholders in the South West to advise the Government of its strategic and local priorities for rail for the South-West of England for the period up until 2034. The report is expected by June 2016. The Campaign to Protect Rural England report is a useful contribution to the work of the Task Force.

Railways: Rural Areas

The Marquess of Lothian: To ask Her Majesty’s Government which rural railway lines closed in the 1960s they would now favour reopening.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: In line with the Government’s devolution agenda, it is for local transport authorities to consider in the first instance whether the re-opening of a closed railway line is the best way to meet local transport needs and, if so, whether they would wish to prioritise any such re-opening in bidding for funding from the Government’s Local Growth Fund.

High Speed 2 Railway Line: Sheffield

Lord Scriven: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 18 June (HL453), whether any cost-benefit analysis has been conducted purely on the impact on the economic performance of South Yorkshire of siting the HS2 station at Sheffield City Centre and Meadowhall, rather than on a demand and appraisal basis; and if such analysis has been conducted, when the results will be published.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Sheffield City Council and officers at South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive carried out an assessment of the relative economic impacts of siting the South Yorkshire HS2 station in Sheffield City Centre or at Meadowhall. The conclusions of this assessment were set out by HS2 Ltd in their report Options for phase two of the high speed rail network (March 2012).

Department for Communities and Local Government

Community Relations

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure that all departments promote greater social cohesion and positive relations between all faiths, cultures and opinions, in addition to preventing extreme and criminal behaviour.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: Strong communities, built on a shared set of values, are the foundations of a strong society. Our approach to integration breaks down barriers: emphasising local action and bringing people together; celebrating what we have in common rather than what divides us and protecting and promoting our core values. My Department has spent over £45 million on integration projects since 2010 as part of a more targeted approach - building integrated communities and supporting British values. This includes £12 million in 2014 - 15 to support 30 projects to build integration, reaching over 335,000 people.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

India

Lord Singh of Wimbledon: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Warsi on 7 April 2014 (HL WA244), and the oral answer by the Earl of Courtown on 16 June (HL Deb, col 1077), why they consider the mass killing of Sikhs in India to be a matter for the government of India alone, and not an issue for the international community.

Earl of Courtown: The events of June 1984 at Sri Harmandir Sahib in Amritsar led to a tragic loss of life and remain a source of deep pain to Sikhs everywhere around the world. We recognise the deep scars that this event left and the incredibly strong feelings that exist to this day. Relations between the Sikhs in India and the Indian government is an internal matter between those two parties.

Sri Lanka: Human Rights

Baroness Kennedy of Cradley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their latest assessment of the human rights situation in Sri Lanka.

Earl of Courtown: We welcomed the early commitments by President Sirisena, and his new government, to make progress on human rights concerns in Sri Lanka. Since then there have been a number of positive steps taken, including the adoption of the 19th amendment to the constitution that restores the independence of key institutions; removal of restrictions on freedom of expression, with exiled journalists invited to return to the country and a number of banned websites unblocked; and, more democratic space with travel bans on foreign nationals visiting the North lifted and the Non-Governmental Organisations Secretariat moved from the Ministry of Defence to the Ministry of Policy Planning and Economic Affairs.Challenges however remain, particularly over high military levels in the North and their involvement in civilian life and land occupation. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights will make an assessment of progress at the September UN Human Rights Council.

Northern Ireland Office

Helicopters: Northern Ireland

Lord Rogan: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in each of the years 2010 to 2014, on how many occasions a helicopter was flown from the Republic of Ireland to Northern Ireland to aid civil authorities.

Lord Dunlop: During the years of 2010 to 2014, there was one occasion, on 28 March 2013 when two helicopters were flown from the Republic of Ireland to Northern Ireland to assist with a farming emergency during a period of heavy snow.

Equality: Northern Ireland

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their policy regarding the enforcement of the policy of equality of esteem in Northern Ireland, as outlined in the Belfast Agreement of 1998.

Lord Dunlop: We are committed to upholding our obligations as set out in the Belfast Agreement.

Parades Commission

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their policy concerning ensuring the transparency of decision-making by the Northern Ireland Parades Commission.

Lord Dunlop: The disclosure of information relating to decisions made by the Parades Commission for Northern Ireland is an operational matter for the Commission acting independently of Government.The Noble Lord may wish to write to the Parades Commission directly on this matter.

Stormont House Agreement

Lord Empey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they intend to introduce legislation to implement the Stormont House Agreement.

Lord Dunlop: As set out in the Queen’s Speech, the Government is committed to bringing forward legislation in this session to give effect to the Stormont House Agreement in Northern Ireland. The Northern Ireland (Stormont House Agreement) Bill will make provision for an independent Historical Investigations Unit, an Oral History Archive, and the Independent Commission on Information Retrieval – a new body to be established by an international agreement between the UK Government and Irish Government.The Bill will be introduced as soon as the Parliamentary timetable allows.

Department for International Development

Females: Equality

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans, if any, are in place to mark the one-year anniversary of the London Girl Summit.

Baroness Verma: Since the Girl Summit in London in 2014, the Department for International Development has focused on delivering the UK Government’s commitment to ending FGM and Child, Early and Forced Marriage through its flagship £35 million FGM programme and recently launched £36 million programme to accelerate action to end Child marriage. DFID will co-host an event with the Canadian High Commission to mark the first anniversary of the Girl Summit and will produce, together with UNICEF a stocktake of global progress over the past year in working to end FGM and Child, Early and Forced marriage. Progress on our domestic commitments includes a range of measures to significantly strengthen the law on FGM through the Serious Crime Act, a further £1.6 million for the next stage of the Department of Health’s FGM prevention programme, and a programme of outreach by the Government’s FGM Unit.

Department for Education

Children: Corporal Punishment

Lord Blencathra: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the judgment in Re A [2015] EWHC 1598 (Fam), in particular the judge's remarks that cultural context must be considered in such cases.

Lord Nash: The law states that it is illegal to assault a child. A parent or guardian hitting their child could be prosecuted for assault, but there is a defence of ‘reasonable chastisement’ that they may use in cases where they have given a child a mild smack. If physical chastisement results in injury to a child, including bruises, cuts or scratches, it can be charged as actual bodily harm or a more serious offence, for which the ‘reasonable chastisement’ defence cannot be used.

Ministry of Justice

Secure Colleges: Leicestershire

Lord Beecham: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the costs that will have been incurred in the event that the planned provision of a secure college on the Glen Parva site does not go ahead.

Lord Faulks: Spend up to and including 30 April 2015 on the Secure College pathfinder was £1.56m resource (mainly expenditure on staff pay and procurement) and £4.04m capital (mainly design fees and site preparation costs). No additional costs would be incurred in the event that the pathfinder did not go ahead. The design work produced for the pathfinder could be used or adapted for various other forms of adult or youth custody. The prepared site at Glen Parva could be used for a range of developments.

Ministry of Defence

Veterans

The Earl of Shrewsbury: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to ensure that military personnel have a smooth transition into civilian life.

Earl Howe: This Government is absolutely committed to ensuring our Service leavers make a successful transition to civilian life. To support that transition, all Service leavers are entitled to a resettlement programme that allows them to capitalise on the highly marketable skills and experiences they take with them. Resettlement provision is available through the Career Transition Partnership, a highly successful collaboration between the Ministry of Defence and Right Management. The range of help available can include training grants, resettlement leave, transition workshops, career support, housing advice, financial briefs, and employment support. During 2013-14, this package of measures helped 84 per cent of Service leavers find sustainable employment within six months of leaving the Armed Forces.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Livestock: Antibiotics

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether the use of antibiotic products on farm animals contributes significantly to the antibiotic resistance problem.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: Bacteria naturally adapt and find new ways to survive the effects of an antibiotic; any use of an antibiotic accelerates the risk that bacteria will develop resistance. The Government continues to carry out research and surveillance to better understand the link between antibiotic use and development of resistance.

Home Office

Police: Cameras

Lord Harris of Haringey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to the data storage requirements arising from the increasing use of body-worn camera technology by the police.

Lord Bates: The Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) and chief officers will make the decisions on how technology will be used by officers at a local level, including the data storage requirements arising from increased use of body worn videos.Although storage solutions are an operational issue for policing, we are clear more needs to be done to enable forces to utilise body worn video in the most effective way to ensure that data can flow smoothly throughout the criminal justice system. This is why we are working with policing to embed interoperability between forces and encouraging the use of common standards. These standards will support data sharing across the criminal justice system, including policing, in a way that anyone can access and understand. Open standards along with the work of the Police ICT Company, will help to create an open and active market to deliver better value for police ICT spend.

Police: Cameras

Lord Harris of Haringey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had about the evidential use of images captured by the use of body-worn camera technology by police officers.

Lord Bates: The evidential use of body worn images is a matter for policing, with input from the criminal justice system. As the professional body for policing, the College of Policing published interim operational guidance in July 2014; this was developed in conjunction with a number of partners, including the courts and Crown Prosection Service. This guidance sets out the procedures police forces must use to ensure the integrity of body worn video evidence. Body Worn Video (BWV) footage is accepted as evidence in courts and there is real enthusiasm from the judiciary for its potential to encourage early guilty pleas and lead to significantly higher conviction rates.However the College’s current guidance is clear that BWV material should be used to corroborate, rather than replace, traditional written statements and users should not rely on BWV for providing their evidence. Although a BWV recording may provide compelling evidence, it will not necessarily prove all aspects of a case and users must always be prepared to provide written evidence of anything pertinent to the case and not wholly represented by the recording.

Cabinet Office

Cabinet Office: ComRes

Lord Lipsey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have commissioned any research from ComRes in the past 12 months.

Lord Lipsey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the remarks by Earl Howe on 24 February (HL Deb, col 1621), whether they plan to commission any research from ComRes in the future.

Lord Bridges of Headley: This information is not held centrally and can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Prime Minister

Lord Knight of Weymouth: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much was spent by 10 Downing Street on make-up and hair products in the last financial year.

Lord Bridges of Headley: No money has been spent.

Department for Culture Media and Sport

UN Convention for Protection of Cultural Property in Event of Armed Conflict

Lord Renfrew of Kaimsthorn: To ask Her Majesty’s Government why they have not yet ratified the 1954 Hague Convention on the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict; and when they plan to do so.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The Government has made a commitment to bring forward legislation to ratify the Hague Convention and accede its two protocols at the first opportunity. Previous Governments were unable to find the necessary parliamentary time to do this earlier.

Treasure Act 1996

Lord Renfrew of Kaimsthorn: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they expect to complete and publish the recommendations of their review of the Treasure Act 1996.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: My Department will be conducting a public consultation later this year which will contain a number of proposals relating to the definition of Treasure and other measures set out in the Treasure Code of Practice. The Government's response to the consultation will be published thereafter.

UN Convention for Protection of Cultural Property in Event of Armed Conflict

The Earl of Clancarty: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to introduce a bill in the current session to ratify the Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict; and, if not, when they plan to do so.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The Government will bring forward new legislation to ratify the Hague Convention on the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict at the first opportunity.

Broadband: Rural Areas

The Earl of Shrewsbury: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they estimate that residents living in rural areas will be able to access the same broadband speeds as customers living in cities and towns.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The Government recognises that customers in rural areas currently experience, on average, lower broadband speeds than those in urban areas. This is why the Government is investing £780 million to deliver superfast broadband, mostly targeted at rural areas where it would not otherwise be available if left to the commercial sector. Superfast broadband is available to 80% of UK premises and we aim to reach 95% coverage by 2017. By the end of this year access to standard broadband of 2 Megabits will be available to everyone. The Government has also made available up to £10 million to support pilot projects to explore ways to extend superfast broadband beyond 95% of UK premises, with technologies such as satellite and wireless and using new financing models.

Department of Health

Eating Disorders

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to improve NHS treatment for patients with eating disorders.

Lord Prior of Brampton: As part of the Autumn Statement 2014, investment of £30 million per year until 2020 was announced to improve services for children and young people with mental health problems in England, placing a particular emphasis on eating disorders.   To improve access to eating disorder services, NHS England is leading the development of an Access and Waiting Time Standard which is expected to be introduced in April 2016.

College of Social Work

Lord Beecham: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consultation they conducted before deciding to discontinue funding the College of Social Work; and with whom.

Lord Prior of Brampton: Government was approached by the College of Social Work (the College) in March to discuss their financial situation for 2015-16 and beyond. As a result the College initiated an internal review of its functions and business model. The report demonstrated that even with the proposed level of Government funding, the College would be running at a loss. The financial health of an organisation is a key factor in the decision to award grant funding. The Department would not continue to provide grant funding to any organisation that is deemed to be financially unsustainable under HM Treasury rules (Managing Public Money). Therefore, funding is being provided in 2015-16 to ensure an orderly transfer of its Government funded work to other bodies.

Passive Smoking: Death

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what their assessment is of the number of people who have died from passive smoking in England in each of the last five years.

Lord Prior of Brampton: Exposure to secondhand smoke is a serious health hazard. More than 50 carcinogens have been identified in secondhand smoke.   The report of the United States Surgeon General titled The health consequences of involuntary exposure to tobacco smoke concluded that secondhand smoke causes premature death and disease in children and adults who do not smoke. The scientific evidence indicates that there is no risk-free level of exposure to secondhand smoke. Children exposed to secondhand smoke are at an increased risk for sudden infant death syndrome, acute respiratory infections, ear problems and more severe asthma. Smoking by parents causes respiratory symptoms and slows lung growth in children. Exposure of adults to secondhand smoke has immediate adverse effects on the cardiovascular system and causes coronary heart disease and lung cancer. Legislation to stop smoking in vehicles carrying children will come into force in England on 1 October 2015.  The report of the Royal College of Physicians titled Going smoke-free: The medical case for clean air in the home, at work and in public places included estimates that secondhand smoke exposure caused approximately 12,200 deaths in the United Kingdom in 2003, and that the majority of these deaths occurred as a result of exposure to secondhand smoke in the home. These estimates were made prior to the introduction of smokefree legislation in England in 2007. Over the past decade, the proportion of smokers who say that they do not smoke in the home has increased.   The evidence is clear that smokefree legislation in England has had beneficial effects on health, as set out in the report The Impact of smokefree legislation in England: evidence review which was published alongside the “Tobacco Control Plan for England” in March 2011. The reports referred to have already been placed in the Library.

Kidney Diseases: Drugs

Lord Maginnis of Drumglass: To ask Her Majesty’s Government in how many cases of Membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis kidney disease the use of the drug Eculizumab has been identified as the only viable treatment; in how many cases its use has been refused; and what assessment they have made of the circumstances of the appeal by 15 year-old Lewis Brimble against such a refusal.

Lord Prior of Brampton: NHS England has advised that, to date, it has received three individual funding requests for eculizumab (Soliris) to treat membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis or dense deposit disease. All three requests were declined.   Neither the Department nor NHS England can comment on individual cases.   The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence published a rapid evidence summary on prevention of recurrence of C3 glomerulopathy post-transplant: eculizumab on 26 June 2015. This is available at the following link and a copy is attached:   www.nice.org.uk/advice/esuom44/chapter/Key-points-from-the-evidence 



Prevention of recurrence of C3 glomerulopathy
(PDF Document, 151.72 KB)

Smoking: Public Places

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to reduce deaths from passive smoking by introducing restrictions on smoking in public outdoor areas.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The Government has no current plans to extend smokefree legislation to open spaces. It is for individual organisations and local authorities to decide if they want to adopt a more extensive no smoking policy. Public Health England will continue its work to encourage voluntary action to protect children from the harms from exposure to secondhand smoke.

Cancer: Drugs

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the total value of projected savings to be made by removing drugs and indications from the Cancer Drugs Fund in England over (1) Q1 of 2015–16, and (2) the whole of 2015–16.

Lord Prior of Brampton: NHS England has advised that the projected value of savings from the Cancer Drugs Fund, as a result of removing drugs from the national list, is not yet available.   Decisions to de-list drugs were made taking account of the need to ensure the limited resources of the Fund are used most effectively. Advances in medical science mean that new and exciting cancer medicines are emerging all the time and we want people to have access to these too.   The Government established the Cancer Drugs Fund to ensure that cancer patients in England have better access to life-extending and improving drugs not routinely funded by the National Health Service.   Between October 2010 and March 2015, the Fund has helped over 72,000 cancer patients.

Cancer: Drugs

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of delisting from the Cancer Drugs Fund on the availability of cancer drugs in the United Kingdom, in comparison with (1) the level of access in 2010 when the Fund was introduced, and (2) availability levels in comparable European countries.

Lord Prior of Brampton: Neither the Department nor NHS England has made any such assessment.   Decisions to de-list drugs were made taking account of the need to ensure the limited resources of the Fund are used most effectively. Advances in medical science mean that new and exciting cancer medicines are emerging all the time and we want people to have access to these too.   The Government established the Cancer Drugs Fund to ensure that cancer patients in England have better access to life-extending and improving drugs not routinely funded by the NHS.   Between October 2010 and March 2015, the Fund has helped over 72,000 cancer patients.

Pets

Lord Hanningfield: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have, if any, to encourage the elderly to adopt or interact with pets, in the light of research regarding the positive impact they can have on people who suffer depression or loneliness.

Lord Prior of Brampton: Loneliness is a complex problem and affects people in many different ways and it can have a severe impact on people’s mental wellbeing. The reasons why people become socially isolated are diverse and a range of approaches may be needed to address these. In providing advice or support to people who are lonely or depressed local authorities could suggest interaction with pets but this will depend on the individual and the reasons behind their condition.